Personal Branding & Style

The very first experience we have with someone is visual. Our self image, otherwise know as our personal brand, *speaks* before we even open our mouth.

Living in an increasingly visual world with our focus depleting daily, personal branding is really the only way to differentiate ourselves from our competitors and I cannot overstate it’s importance.

What is personal branding?

So, think of your personal brand as an extension of your body language.

 It’s the strongest non-verbal communication you have and if used correctly, it has the power to change your career success.

 Your business brand is different but CAN be part of the same thing and I would argue that when your personal brand and your business brand are synonymous, it’s the most compelling.

After about a decade researching this area, I define personal branding as:

“THE CONSISTENT ART OF FITTING IN, WHILST STANDING OUT”
(I should probably patent that)

Why is personal branding important?

As humans, we judge every single person we meet within the blink of an eye* (often unwillingly, it’s just how we’re programmed from cavewomen days). Because first impressions count - and are almost impossible to ‘re-establish’ - that initial assumption made based on how you present yourself, cements your perceived positioned in the world.

 Your self image answers numerous initial questions strangers will have about you, such as your religious beliefs, age, socio-economic status and so on. In the business world, your personal brand can clarify your company’s objectives and values, whilst creating a connection with your target audience. However, it’s the deeper layer of intrinsic skills needed for business interaction that I’m most interested in because these are the make-or break personality traits that make people pick YOU to work with, over your competition:

•               Do you appear organized?

•               Are you consistent & trustworthy?

•               Do you have a different point of view that’s worth listening to?

•               Do you respect the person you’re meeting with, do you look like you respect    yourself?

•               Are you open mined or closed?

All without saying a word.

You can change how people see you and your business, simply by changing your clothes.

 The most exciting part of that statement is that it doesn’t stop with external perception. A study in 2012 have shown that changing your self image actually changes the way YOU see yourself and changes YOUR behavior. The “Theory of Enclothed Cognition” describes the effect that different clothes have on the wearers psychological processes and cognitive behavior, because of the symbolic meaning when physically wearing that item**

As a personal stylist, I’ve had many clients admit they’ve been told they won’t be put forward for a promotion because of the poor way they present themselves. We then have a style session together and I’ve witnessed them go on to achieve career (and personal) goals they never thought possible. That’s because their personal brand elevated the way they saw themselves, increased their confidence, helped them understand what was unique about them, resulting in a change in the way others perceived them too.

 So, how do you create your personal brand?

Well, we just touched on it.

 You need to understand YOUR uniqueness, YOUR niche, what makes you different to your competition?

 You achieve this by investing a little time in yourself. However, it can be challenging to be objective about yourself, can’t it? This is when you need to enlist the help of others when creating your personal brand, you could ask friends what makes you stand out, request a style session with a personal stylist like me, or brainstorm with colleagues?

One of the very best things about what I do is get to know my clients through their wardrobe choices and teach people about themselves. Through workshopping clients’ nuanced likes and dislikes, we build a picture and because I can identify and put words around these traits, your unique personal brand is born!

 Therefore, I encourage you to look through your wardrobe and group together some of your favorite pieces, what do they have in common? Bold colour or softer shades, shiny surfaces or textures, conservative or risk taking styles? The answers are right there, you just have to be objective and understand how the fashion you’ve chosen speaks about they type of person you are. Are you a bold, shiny risk taker, or a softer, conservative thinker?

You know when you’ve found your personal style because it feels ‘good’, it feels ‘right’ and it feels like ‘you’

This insight then needs to be consistently present in every part of your business interaction from your social media through to your language and tone so it bolsters a clear personal brand.   

So for those of you who say ‘….they’re just clothes’ I think it’s clear that you’re doing yourself a huge disservice.

For further reading, click for my blog on personal branding for different business sectors, or see examples of personal branding for small businesses

*source – Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

**The term the “Theory of Enclothed Cognition” was coined by Hajo Adam and Adam D. Galinsky who exhibited the phenomenon with an experiment in 2012 using white lab coats